Emma Brockes points out that the word “fascist” gets thrown around a lot (The word ‘fascist’ has lost all meaning. And Trump is using that to his advantage, 23 October). It was the same in George Orwell’s day. In his 1944 Tribune column he said that, “as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless … I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley’s broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else.” The best definition he could come up with was to suggest that “almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’”.
Neil Smith
Solihull, West Midlands
• Although Emma Brockes provides examples of the usage of the word “fascist” to mean anyone in opposition to liberal elites, she should really have strictly defined it, and possibly pleaded that it has been so misused that the meaning has become obscured. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1964) defines it as, “the principles and organization of the patriotic and anti-communist movement in Italy started during the 1914-18 war, culminating in the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini”. Thus of historic origin. Obviously, the word originates in the Latin fasces meaning a bundle; in ancient Rome a bundle of sticks enclosing an axe was a sign of law and power. Chambers Dictionary (2011) adds that it is militaristic, “characterised by restrictions on individual freedom”. It has become a loose insult to anyone who speaks out against the liberal left, or holds views that challenge or differ from the prevailing political ideology. Similar sloppy usage applies to “far right” and “far left” as well. Journalists should be advocates for precision in language in these somewhat combustible times.
Dr Jane Donati
Harpenden, Hertfordshire
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